ebay crack down on off-ebay sales

[memorabiliaunlimited]

i received an actual phone call from ebay today. they have been cracking down on off ebay sales, which includes monitoring messages that users send which attempt to exchange contact information (including email addresses and phone numbers). i was threatened with permanent suspension based on one (alleged) attempt, and if i didnt represent to them right then that it would never happen again, my account would have been "restricted" (cannot buy or list new items) for one week. everyone should be aware of this and be careful!

[LarryWalkerFan]

Did you try to transact a lot of off-site things or did your listing have your contact info?

[Juicyfruit66]

I bought off a guy after messaging him for pp only purchase, they emailed me with a warning...they def are tracking phone numbers now

[LarryWalkerFan]

I keep getting this orange warning pop up whenever I sent ANY message to sellers. I think that maybe they've realized that they're not profitable without Paypal. ;)

[dwolfe12345]

I got the same message yesterday. I made a trade with fellow member tella27 for and item I had and an item he had on eBay. They threatened us both with suspensions.

[RaiderNationPDX]

I was threatened with suspension last month for an off-eBay transaction that happened two years ago.

[LarryWalkerFan]

My guess would be that the next step is eBay asking all sellers to place a card on file specifically to charge the eBay fee for any transactions done in an attempt to avoid fees.

Personally, I don't fault eBay for the crackdown. When they owned Paypal, they still made a profit off fees, even if it was a lower amount. Now that they don't own Paypal, they make nothing if a seller transacts offsite.

I think eBay would be best served by lowering their fees down to five percent of actual item costs.

[helmets]

My position through the years is that I will try not to sell items outside of ebay that are listed. Ebay should get their fee. However, when a buyer messages me about another helmet that I may have - that is not listed, and we agree to make a deal, I shouldn't have to list it on ebay and pay them 10% to sell it. It is difficult to make the deals and get the other person's contact info through the ebay messaging system.

[memorabiliaunlimited]

Did you try to transact a lot of off-site things or did your listing have your contact info?

my listings dont have my contact info - they are monitoring everyones messages. i am not saying i am completely innocent, i am saying that ebay is actually doing something about it now. for years i have never received any sort of warning, and now only recently they have started to take action.

[sherbal15]

I was suspended for a week after I was passing info with another user. A sale was never made but I ended the item and was suspended immediately after ending the item. I couldn't list or bid on anything during that time

[Bondsgloves]

I was kicked off, and it wasn't for selling anything off ebay. One guy was selling an item and I asked for additional photos and he asked for my email to send them. So I sent him my email address. The second was I included my phone number in a question so another seller could text me photos. I was kicked off and had to open a new account last week.:mad:

[Jags Fan Dan]

They need competition. I know others have tried, but somebody needs to get a competitive site going.

[Phil316]

I have seen sellers attach an image with their email address or phone number in the image before as a way of circumvention.

Ebay's site and ebay's user agreement. If you dont abide by the rules off with ya head.

[sox83cubs84]

Even on perfectly legitimate (by their standards) emails and replies, I often get a warning to not make deals off eBay. I never got a personal email or call, but I get the generic message often even when there's nothing remotely related to the types of actions eBay is trying to police.

Dave Miedema